Her footsteps carried her away from the Rystall and on westward. Her only
companion for this trip was her son, Averas. She put her arm around the wood elf child, and walked on in silence. He already knew why they were leaving and while he would miss his friends and his adopted father, he trusted his mother and her judgement. He knew this was hard for her and as a good son he kept quiet so as not to put anymore of a burden on his mother.
Waiting at the western edge of the forest was an expected, but still
amazing, sight. There waiting for her was an Everskan knight on his griffin.
Mariiana had sent word to that ancient elven kingdom and asked for assitance in her efforts to take her and her son far away to the island of Evermeet.
They would stop for three days in the city of Everska so that the child may
see the city that his father had loved so very much. It would hurt Mariiana
to see the city where Jain'n had been educated but this stop was not for
her, it was for Averas. Everska would just be a pause in the trip, for she
and her son were following a path that many countless elven pilgrims had
partaken in over the ages. The elven retreat to Evermeet.
The Everskan knight was a gold elf, and while he greeted her with all the
proper politeness and courtly grace, she could not help but be pained at
seeing up close another sun elf that reminded her so much of the boys
father. She helped Averas onto the flying mount first and sat behind him,
this was done as much to keep the boy safe between her and the knight as it was to keep the child from seeing her teary red eyes.
The mighty griffin took to the skies, barely weighted down by the three
passengers. As it wheeled higher into the sky, she looked back out across
the vast continent behind her. From here she could see the great expanse of the Cormanthor forest, land beloved to Myr. She had been happy with him for a while, a simple life in a simple cottage. Mariiana had hoped that settling with Myr would give some stabilty to her life so that she may raise her son in peace, far from the ancient curse that came with her sons royal blood. Those hopes of a peaceful life in shadowdale were beyond her grasp now. She knew the only thing she could do now was to let go.
Although she couldnt see it, she knew the land of cormyr laid beyond that
wide swath of green. Cormyr held its own painful memories for her. She left behind two people she had known. Voran, leader of the druids circle. He had offered her asylum in his own way, but always seemed more consumed by his work than consumed by their passion. In the end they were just to diffrent to be together and she had left that grim situation behind. She also thought on her brother Sirrill. Sirrill had never been happy with the world he was born into, and some would say that he had never even been happy with his race he had been born into. Her brothers god, the leaflord had felt his pain and eventually granted him peace as a treant. His former bonded one Elrien, the one Mariiana taught the one who beared Sirrill's son..such fond memories, but Sirrill would always watch over them.
Eventually as the griffin flew away from these places she turned her gaze
from the east and faced forward to the west. Averas seemed to be enjoying the ride, his face wide with amazement. Mariiana hadnt noticed it while she was in her own memories but the boy and their knightly escort had been talking on about the griffin and the passing terrain. Mariiana hugged the boy tight, and rested her head on his. All this talk of knights and griffins reminded her too much of the boys father.
For a moment she wondered if all sun elves were saddled with as much
tragedy as beauty. Arien, a sun elf she called her sister, had been troubled
by many woes and had ended her public life by taking on a retreat of her own kind by going deep into the rystall, far from the eyes of the world. She would miss Arien, but of all the people she was leaving behind, at least Arien was a memory without any regrets.
Scenery passed below them with suprising speed from on the back of the
griffin, and soon the mountain city of Everska could be seen. The sight took her breath away and made tears jump to her eyes. She could not look on this place without remembering her time in Lonelywood. That place, more than any other, she carried in her heart wherever she went. The people of that tiny village came flooding into her mind and as she attempted to say a farewell to each of them.
Nylo. A prankish son of Erevan. There seemed never to be a time when Nylo didnt smile when she lived in that village. A wood elf like herself, they
had always gotten along. In fact, after his lord had passed away he had gone to evermeet himself, weary of the world of men. She knew of all the elves left alive, Nylo would want a chance to be good male role model for her son... for the son of Jain'n, nylos closest friend.
Vraja and Kalina. This moon elf pair had always seemed so cultured and
graceful. Noble in every sense of the word. Vraja had come from the isle of evermeet bearing some dark secret that haunted him, a secret from wich the village of Lonelywood had given him solace. After his noble death given in defence of the people of icewind dale, his mate Kalina had left for evermeet herself. Mariiana hoped to see her in evermeet as well.
Rilralia. Another sun elf, This beautiful girl had been the first to take
Mariiana under her wing and teach her the ways of the druids. They had
shared a godess and duties to the circle at the heart of lonelywood.
Rilralia had for a while been Sirrills lover, but her impassioned devotion to
Jain'n always left a taste of jealousy in Sirrills mouth and only ended up
wrecking the relationship. Mariiana was told that Rilralia had also gone to
the great island of Evermeet. She hoped to see her old friend there when she arrived.
Reyza. While he wasnt really one of the elves of Lonelywood, he was a
frequent guest. Mariiana doubted that a son of Fenmarel would ever call any place home, but Reyza came to the village often to pray at the circle and to enjoy the company of the other elves. No one was sure when he passed into the next life but some time afterward his old wolf companion had come to the wood to live out its last days.
...and last, Jain'n. If any sun elf defined the tragedy of that race, it was her first love, Jain'n Vyshann. The last descendant of that cursed ancient line of royals, he was plagued by angry ghosts and unbearable duty. When she first met him she hoped she could nurse him through his troubles, but he seemed to only push her further and further away. Mariiana now knew that the distance he created between them was only to protect her. She knew
now that he refused to give his family name to their son because he hoped
beyond all hope that his son would be a wood elf and not bear the curse he grew up with. Most of her pain was gone, now she rememered him the way he was when they met and he was free and happy... only just begining to understand his dark fate.
As these thoughts passed her, her mind turned to the letter he had given
her on a visit to shadowdale. A letter he had written for Averas. She had at the time never planned to give the letter to her son, fearing he would grow into an adult and go digging into that horrible past. However now she knew Jain'n had lifted the curse before his death, and there was nothing to fear. she would give their son the letter Jain'n had written to Averas, on his 60th birthday.
And as the griffin circled the city ready for its landing, she thought on
her son. Averus had been born looking like any other wood elf boy, dark of skin and eye, but as he aged the sun seemed to bronze his hair and while his complexion remained that of a wood elf she saw more and more of his father in the boys hair, smile, and his noble demeanor. Indeed Averas seemed blessed with all the most favorable traits of both his mother and his father. While it pained her to see this city and think on the young boys father, she also had never been so proud as she was seeing her sons fascination with the griffin. After giving him a moment to say his goodbyes to the noble beast and the knight who delivered them here, she took his hand and led him into Evereska.
They would enjoy the city for but one day... not three as she had planned,
and from there they would leave for Evermeet. Two more elves, weary of the world, would join in the retreat.
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Thanks to all the players behind these most loved pc's you have made my game most enjoyavle and Marii's life so memorable.
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Ny apologies for leaving out Elrien, who Mariiana taught the ways of the druids to
sorry. Anyone else that i didn't mention, do not take it as you didn't make an impact on Mariiana, you did but this post was hard enough to write, so to all the places and people she has encountered from Shadowdale onto Lonelywood....farwell
Sorry Mik although I appreciate Shey's midwife skills she was a thorn in Marii's side from day one, she took her man, and threatened everything she loved especially her son.
